In a desperate attempt to avoid being deported from Britain, a Jamaican man slashed his throat on board a plane that was about to take off. The illegal immigrant, who had smuggled a small razor on board, was treated for what authorities describe as “superficial injuries” before being returned to…
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Two guards suspended for offensive comments posted on page belonging to man under investigation for alleged manslaughter A guard under investigation for the alleged manslaughter of Angolan detainee Jimmy Mubenga has used his Facebook page to post a mocking photograph of two other men, assumed to be other detainees, on an aircraft. Terence Hughes, from Portsmouth, who was arrested over Mubenga’s death last year and remains on bail, placed the image of two south Asian men on the social networking site last month. The Guardian can reveal Hughes has permitted a number of friends to post a string of racist and offensive comments below the image. Some of the posters are other guards accredited by the Home Office to escort detainees. The comments include offensive remarks about the men’s appearances, suggestions they should be on the “London to Bradford Express” and a joke that the men should have been in handcuffs shouting “kill me now”. Two serving guards have been suspended as a result of the Guardian’s investigation into the Facebook postings. Jonathan Sedgwick, acting chief executive of UK Border Agency, expressed his “deep concern” and said the Home Office had requested an immediate investigation. Sedgwick said: “None of the staff involved will work for the UK Border Agency while these claims are investigated. The prisons and probation ombudsman will begin an investigation into these allegations, at our request.” Mubenga, 46, a father of five, died on a British Airways aircraft preparing to depart from Heathrow airport for Angola in October. Passengers on BA flight 77 later said guards forcibly restrained Mubenga, who had been complaining he could not breath. One of the witnesses said Mubenga, who was in handcuffs, could be heard pleading for help and screaming: “They are going to kill me.” Hughes and the other two guards on the flight were arrested days later and suspended by their-then employer, the private security contractor G4S. Detectives from the Metropolitan police’s homicide unit are still investigating Mubenga’s death and considering whether to charge the guards with manslaughter. Police are liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service and may alternatively bring a corporate manslaughter charge against G4S, which recently lost its contract with the Home Office to deport foreign nationals. European employment regulations resulted in Hughes and other G4S staff being transferred to rival security firm Reliance when it won the contract for removals. Although their employer has changed, all three guards investigated over Mubenga’s death remain suspended. Two other serving guards employed by Reliance were suspended on Monday after it emerged they were among a list of Facebook friends of Hughes who left offensive comments beneath the photograph. “We are conducting a comprehensive investigation into these allegations and, should these be proven, we will take further steps which may result in the dismissal of those concerned or involved,” the company said. It was not known who the men pictured in the Facebook photograph are, or even whether they were detainees. Sources with detailed knowledge of immigration removals say guards sometimes take “trophy” photographs of detainees in their custody but the image may also have been sourced from the internet. Hughes posted the image on 8 May, along with the comment: ‘come on then….. whats up with this pic!’. His Facebook friends appear to have assumed the photograph to show two detainees, one of whom had mistakenly placed his aircraft seatbelt across his shoulder. The first comment was by a Facebook friend who gave his name as Matt McGrath and joked that one of the men had “Botox on his lips”. Another Facebook friend, Darren Parker, stated that he, too, had escorted a “depo” who had placed his seatbelt on incorrectly. Contacted this week, Parker denied his comment was offensive and expressed doubt over whether the picture was of detainees, adding: “It’s a funny picture regardless who they are”. The comments thread contains a number of references to handcuffs, seating arrangements and codes for notorious flights used to deport foreign nationals, an indication that some of those posting work in immigration removals. Another Facebook friend, Darren Barrow, wrote: “He hasn’t got two hairy arsed escorts either side of him. No cuffs and not shouting “Kill me now, I’m not a hanimal” lol [laugh out loud].” Contacted this week, he also suggested the image was sourced from the internet but gave no explanation for his Facebook posting. Another Facebook friend to post a comment beneath the photograph, Hardy Kohar, wrote: “Such a dumb fuck this bloke, first time on a plane & No Engrish lol.” Facebook has a user-friendly facility for deleting any messages that are offensive, but Hughes, who had Facebook privacy settings that allowed members of the public to see his page, made no attempt to remove the remarks. He has also made a number of other offensive postings on his Facebook page in recent months, including an apparent joke in January about a “smelly Arab”. Jimmy Mubenga Immigration and asylum Race issues Facebook Internet Social networking Paul Lewis Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
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TalkSport presenter accepts £20,000 from News of the World publisher, following Sienna Miller’s settlement last month TalkSport presenter Andy Gray has accepted £20,000 from News of the World publisher News Group to settle his phone-hacking claim against the newspaper. The newspaper group reached a similar agreement last month with actor Sienna Miller, who dropped her action and received £100,000 in damages. Gray was one of five phone-hacking test cases that were due to be go to court in January next year. Gray’s legal costs will also be met. News International said in a statement: “News Group Newspapers announces today that it has reached an agreement with Andy Gray to pay him £20,000 in damages plus undisclosed costs. “This concludes the action Andy Gray was taking against NGN over voicemail interception in relation to the News of the World.” News International announced last week that a former high court judge, Sir Charles Gray, had been appointed to administer it’s phone-hacking compensation scheme, which it is setting up to encourage victims to settle instead of pursing their civil claims through the courts. It is offering to pay them 10% more than the amount the courts are likely to award in damages, plus legal costs, once the scheme is set up later this year. The company has set aside up to £20m to pay off claimants it believes have a reasonable chance of winning their court cases. Gray’s was to be one of fives cases due to be heard in January 2012 along with those of Labour MP and former minister Chris Bryant, interior designer Kelly Hoppen, actor Jude Law and football agent Sky Andrew. One of the five reserve cases chosen by Justice Vos in May is now likely to be heard as part of next year’s trial in place of Gray’s case. They are being brought by Nicola Phillips, a publicist who used to work for Max Clifford, former MP George Galloway, former England footballer Paul Gascoigne, Mary-Ellen Field, who was employed as a PR adviser to Elle MacPherson, and comedian Steve Coogan. •
Continue reading …Six states are ablaze in a searing summer that’s breaking records for wildfires. More than 1.2 million acres have already burned and some 10,000 people have been forced to flee their homes as flames devour land in Arizona, New Mexico, California and Colorado, as well as Georgia and…
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Police question 19-year-old man over claimed wave of attacks hitting Soca, the US Senate, the CIA, Nintendo and Sony The international hunt for hackers believed to have staged high-profile attacks on websites ranging from law enforcement bodies to Sony has led to the arrest of a teenager based in Essex, police say. The hackers known as LulzSec claim to have been behind attacks on websites around the world, including the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), the US Senate and the CIA, as well as the games firms Nintendo and Sony. British police said intelligence led them to arrest the 19-year-old at a home in Wickford, Essex, over the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The operation involved two British forces as well as the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The police said they believed the attacks were linked and were carried out by the same group of hackers. The teenager was being questioned at a London police station while specialist officers examined computer equipment seized from the address he was arrested at. The Metropolitan police said: “Officers from the Metropolitan police central e-crime unit (PCeU) have arrested a 19-year-old man in a pre-planned intelligence-led operation. “The arrest follows an investigation into network intrusions and DDoS attacks against a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group. “The teenager was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act offences and was taken to a central London police station, where he currently remains in custody for questioning. “Searches at a residential address in Wickford, Essex, following the arrest last night have led to the examination of a significant amount of material. These forensic examinations remain ongoing. “The PCeU was assisted by officers from Essex police and has been working in co-operation with the FBI.” LulzSec claimed on Tuesday to have hacked the UK census and said it was holding the information under “lock and key” until it had reformatted it for publication. The Office for National Statistics said it was investigating claims that the census data had been unlawfully accessed. It said: “We are aware of the suggestion that census data has been accessed. We are working with our security advisers and contractors to establish whether there is any substance to this. “The 2011 census places the highest priority on maintaining the security of personal data. At this stage we have no evidence to suggest that any such compromise has occurred.” On Monday, Soca, the UK national law enforcement unit dubbed the “British FBI”, was forced to take its website offline after an apparent attack. The website was still down early on Tuesday but was back in service later in the morning. In a message posted on Twitter on Monday, LulzSec said: “Tango down – soca.gov.uk – in the name of #AntiSec.” The group later added: “DDoS is of course our least powerful and most abundant ammunition. Government hacking is taking place right now behind the scenes. #AntiSec.” The next day, LulzSec warned again on Twitter of its plans to step up the attacks by hacking into government websites and stealing confidential documents. “Our next step is to categorise and format leaked items we acquire and release them in #AntiSec ‘payloads’ on our website and The Pirate Bay,” the group said. Crime Hacking Sony FBI CIA Nintendo Vikram Dodd Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Police question 19-year-old man over claimed wave of attacks hitting Soca, the US Senate, the CIA, Nintendo and Sony The international hunt for hackers believed to have staged high-profile attacks on websites ranging from law enforcement bodies to Sony has led to the arrest of a teenager based in Essex, police say. The hackers known as LulzSec claim to have been behind attacks on websites around the world, including the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), the US Senate and the CIA, as well as the games firms Nintendo and Sony. British police said intelligence led them to arrest the 19-year-old at a home in Wickford, Essex, over the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The operation involved two British forces as well as the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The police said they believed the attacks were linked and were carried out by the same group of hackers. The teenager was being questioned at a London police station while specialist officers examined computer equipment seized from the address he was arrested at. The Metropolitan police said: “Officers from the Metropolitan police central e-crime unit (PCeU) have arrested a 19-year-old man in a pre-planned intelligence-led operation. “The arrest follows an investigation into network intrusions and DDoS attacks against a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group. “The teenager was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act offences and was taken to a central London police station, where he currently remains in custody for questioning. “Searches at a residential address in Wickford, Essex, following the arrest last night have led to the examination of a significant amount of material. These forensic examinations remain ongoing. “The PCeU was assisted by officers from Essex police and has been working in co-operation with the FBI.” LulzSec claimed on Tuesday to have hacked the UK census and said it was holding the information under “lock and key” until it had reformatted it for publication. The Office for National Statistics said it was investigating claims that the census data had been unlawfully accessed. It said: “We are aware of the suggestion that census data has been accessed. We are working with our security advisers and contractors to establish whether there is any substance to this. “The 2011 census places the highest priority on maintaining the security of personal data. At this stage we have no evidence to suggest that any such compromise has occurred.” On Monday, Soca, the UK national law enforcement unit dubbed the “British FBI”, was forced to take its website offline after an apparent attack. The website was still down early on Tuesday but was back in service later in the morning. In a message posted on Twitter on Monday, LulzSec said: “Tango down – soca.gov.uk – in the name of #AntiSec.” The group later added: “DDoS is of course our least powerful and most abundant ammunition. Government hacking is taking place right now behind the scenes. #AntiSec.” The next day, LulzSec warned again on Twitter of its plans to step up the attacks by hacking into government websites and stealing confidential documents. “Our next step is to categorise and format leaked items we acquire and release them in #AntiSec ‘payloads’ on our website and The Pirate Bay,” the group said. Crime Hacking Sony FBI CIA Nintendo Vikram Dodd Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
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PM’s speech reveals plan to abandon 50% discounts for early guilty pleas and to increase terms for serious offenders David Cameron has outlined plans to hand out a greater number of life sentences and increase the amount of time serious offenders spend in prison, in a major policy U-turn. The prime minister outlined his tough approach to sentencing as he confirmed his decision to abandon plans to offer 50% sentence discounts to offenders who submit early guilty pleas amid media tabloid accusations that the government was engaging in “soft justice”. Cameron told a press conference that dangerous criminals will be locked up “for a very long time” as described his mission to ensure families can “feel safe in their homes” and on the streets. Sentences would have been too lenient and criminals would have been sent the “wrong message” if plans to halve jail terms for offenders who plead guilty early had gone ahead, he told a press conference. Savings of some £100m that would have been made through the plans will now be sought instead through “greater efficiency” elsewhere in justice secretary Kenneth Clarke’s department. The prime minister also denied that the U-turn was a sign of weak government, insisting that the ability to reconsider policy following a consultation displayed “strength” and leadership. Talking of his decision to scrap the plans to offer 50% sentence discounts, Cameron said: “The sentence served would depart far too much from the sentence handed down by the judge, and this is simply not acceptable. The sentence would be too lenient, the wrong message would be sent out to the criminal and it would erode public confidence in the system.” In a notable shift from the original sentencing plans, Cameron said the government would look at keeping serious criminals in prison longer as part of a review of indeterminate jail sentences. It was a “tough” new approach. “We’re going to review the existing system urgently with a view to replacing it with an alternative that is clear, tough and better understood by the public,” said Cameron. This alternative system would include a “greater number of life sentences, including mandatory life sentences for the most serious repeat offenders”, he said. “Instead of serious, sexual and violent offenders being released halfway through their sentence, we propose they should spend at least two-thirds of that sentence in prison, and that such offenders should never again be released early without the parole board being satisfied that it is safe to let this happen.” Dangerous offenders should also take part in compulsory programmes behind bars to make them change their behaviour, the premier said. Legislation is expected in the autumn. “The public need to know that dangerous criminals will be locked up for a very long time. I’m determined that they will be.” Despite announcing the latest in a series of policy U-turns, Cameron insisted his government was “extremely strong, resolute and determined” and that abandoning the 50% discounts was a sign of “strength and confidence” that the coalition was prepared to listen and change its mind. The “weak thing to do” was to keep “ploughing on” when consultations on reform indicated there were better ways of doing things. “The tough, strong thing to do is to say ‘yes, we can make these plans better’,” he said, adding that that was what the government had done on both sentencing and the NHS. “I don’t for one minute think that somehow it is weak to listen and then to act, it is a sign of strength and confidence.” Cameron also faced down calls to sack his justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, whom he described as “an extremely effective minister” with a “hugely difficult job to do”. Clarke was robust and prepared enough to listen to what other people had said and come up “with something better”, he said. David Cameron Crime Kenneth Clarke Prisons and probation Conservatives Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …PM’s speech reveals plan to abandon 50% discounts for early guilty pleas and to increase terms for serious offenders David Cameron has outlined plans to hand out a greater number of life sentences and increase the amount of time serious offenders spend in prison, in a major policy U-turn. The prime minister outlined his tough approach to sentencing as he confirmed his decision to abandon plans to offer 50% sentence discounts to offenders who submit early guilty pleas amid media tabloid accusations that the government was engaging in “soft justice”. Cameron told a press conference that dangerous criminals will be locked up “for a very long time” as described his mission to ensure families can “feel safe in their homes” and on the streets. Sentences would have been too lenient and criminals would have been sent the “wrong message” if plans to halve jail terms for offenders who plead guilty early had gone ahead, he told a press conference. Savings of some £100m that would have been made through the plans will now be sought instead through “greater efficiency” elsewhere in justice secretary Kenneth Clarke’s department. The prime minister also denied that the U-turn was a sign of weak government, insisting that the ability to reconsider policy following a consultation displayed “strength” and leadership. Talking of his decision to scrap the plans to offer 50% sentence discounts, Cameron said: “The sentence served would depart far too much from the sentence handed down by the judge, and this is simply not acceptable. The sentence would be too lenient, the wrong message would be sent out to the criminal and it would erode public confidence in the system.” In a notable shift from the original sentencing plans, Cameron said the government would look at keeping serious criminals in prison longer as part of a review of indeterminate jail sentences. It was a “tough” new approach. “We’re going to review the existing system urgently with a view to replacing it with an alternative that is clear, tough and better understood by the public,” said Cameron. This alternative system would include a “greater number of life sentences, including mandatory life sentences for the most serious repeat offenders”, he said. “Instead of serious, sexual and violent offenders being released halfway through their sentence, we propose they should spend at least two-thirds of that sentence in prison, and that such offenders should never again be released early without the parole board being satisfied that it is safe to let this happen.” Dangerous offenders should also take part in compulsory programmes behind bars to make them change their behaviour, the premier said. Legislation is expected in the autumn. “The public need to know that dangerous criminals will be locked up for a very long time. I’m determined that they will be.” Despite announcing the latest in a series of policy U-turns, Cameron insisted his government was “extremely strong, resolute and determined” and that abandoning the 50% discounts was a sign of “strength and confidence” that the coalition was prepared to listen and change its mind. The “weak thing to do” was to keep “ploughing on” when consultations on reform indicated there were better ways of doing things. “The tough, strong thing to do is to say ‘yes, we can make these plans better’,” he said, adding that that was what the government had done on both sentencing and the NHS. “I don’t for one minute think that somehow it is weak to listen and then to act, it is a sign of strength and confidence.” Cameron also faced down calls to sack his justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, whom he described as “an extremely effective minister” with a “hugely difficult job to do”. Clarke was robust and prepared enough to listen to what other people had said and come up “with something better”, he said. David Cameron Crime Kenneth Clarke Prisons and probation Conservatives Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …A passenger plane crashed on a highway in Russia last night, killing 44 people and critically injuring eight others. The Rusair Tupolev-134 aircraft crash-landed in heavy fog a mile short of the runway at Petrozavodsk, 400 miles north of Moscow. The crash comes the day before Russian Prime Minister Vladimir…
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Fitch’s warning came just hours ahead of a crucial confidence vote that could bring down the Greek government Europe’s hopes of preventing Greece defaulting on its debts were knocked on Tuesday as ratings agency Fitch declared that it will declare the country to be in default if commercial banks agree to roll their loans over, as EU finance ministers are planning. European leaders, led by France and the European Central Bank, argue that Greek lenders could choose to buy new, longer maturing bonds when their existing debts mature, as part of a second Greek rescue package. They say that lenders would be under no compulsion to make the swap, rather than cashing the bond in, so Greece would not be defaulting on its debts. Fitch, though, refuses to accept this. “Fitch would regard such a debt exchange or voluntary debt rollover as a default event and would lead to the assignment of a default rating to Greece,” Andrew Colquhoun, head of Asia-Pacific sovereign ratings with Fitch, told a conference in Singapore early on Tuesday. Fitch had previously signalled its opposition to lenders exchanging their debts for longer-dated securities – which had been Germany’s favoured plan, until Angela Merkel accepted defeat last Friday . Like the other agencies, it believes that any deal where lenders receive securities on worse terms than the original contractual terms of the existing debt should be classed as a “distressed” debt exchange. Colquhoun’s comments “further cast doubt on the ability of Greece to avoid a default, or credit event,” according to Michael Hewson of CMC Markets . The warning came just hours ahead of a crucial confidence vote that could bring down the Greek government, as it struggles to pass a new raft of austerity measures to qualify for €12bn in aid. Without this money, Greece will probably be unable to repay debts that mature in July and August. Negotiations over the second rescue package, worth an estimated €120bn (£106bn), are continuing after EU ministers failed to reach agreement at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. The lack of progress has tested the patience of both the financial markets and the International Monetary Fund, which warned that the lack of decisive action risked another global financial meltdown . EU ministers hope to reach agreement in July. They stated on Monday that second bailout is to be “financed through both official and private sources … in the form of informal and voluntary roll-overs of existing Greek debt at maturity for a substantial reduction of the required year-by-year funding within the programme, while avoiding a selective default for Greece.” If the ratings agencies declare that Greece has defaulted, then banks would be forced to write down the value of their Greek debt. This would also prevent them from using it as collateral. Analysts fear that a Greek default could trigger panic across the sector, with some comparing it to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. IMF flies into Athens European stock markets opened higher on Tuesday morning, driven by optimism that a rescue deal can be agreed. The FTSE 100 index had gained 40 points by midday, to 5733. The vote of confidence in Geoge Papandreou’s reshuffled government is expected to take place at 10pm BST. John Hydeskov, chief analyst at Danske Markets in London, warned there could be disatrous consequences if the Greek parliament does not approve the new package of spending cuts, in the face of widespread public opposition. “The alternative of not getting the money is so frightening that we don’t have another choice,” he told CNBC. Officials from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union are flying into Athens on Tuesday, a sign of the importance of the vote. “Without more austerity Greece may not see further EU funding, which would bring default closer,” said Jane Foley of Rabobank. Opponents of a second bailout argue that it would only ratchet up the economic and political cost of the crisis, without providing a solution. “A second Greek bailout is almost certain to result in outright losses for taxpayers further down the road because, even with the help of additional money, Greece remains likely to default within the next few years,” said Raoul Ruparel, analyst at the Open Europe think tank. “Another bailout will also increase the cost of a Greek default, transferring a far bigger chunk of the burden from private investors to taxpayers,” Ruparel added. Open Europe estimates that each household in the eurozone underwrites €535 in Greek debt, through the existing loan guarantees. By 2014, if a second bailout is agreed, this will increase to €1,450 per household, it claimed. European debt crisis Ratings agencies Greece Europe Europe Bonds Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
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